Urban residents of metropolises such as London
tend towards replacing nature and activities provided by carefully maintained
landscapes. Green areas in large cities have become a vital potential for a
breather, an escape, an opportunity to relax, and finally an indicator of the
quality of life. One of the largest botanic gardens, an hour's drive from the
busy city-center of London, offers a fantastic stroll among flora from
different corners of the world. Kew Gardens never fails to fascinate me, fill
me with inspiration, and always helps me to connect a thought or two of
future-planing. Mapping out specific moments of the future can soon become
boring, so giving yourself over to the gentle spring sun among the art of the
Far East is invaluable in preventing days from blending into one another and
life from becoming too monotonous.
Article and photography: Klementina Tement,
landscape architect
The main feature of the Japanese gardens is not
the geometric pattern of the design, it is the organic part of it – using the
proper plant material or even complete abstraction helps create marvelous
depictions of nature. What makes the gardens stand out is the isolated
geographic location of the archipelago and especially the spiritual movements
which prompted their creation. Carefully chosen rocks and unique-looking trees
are by no means a coincidence. The belief in higher forces and the admiration
of nature and its power were the main prompts for creating such unique garden
art.
 |
|
Parts of
the composition are trimmed evergreen shrubs – karikomi. The trimming makes the
plants anonymous masses without a separate personality.
|
Less is More
In the midst of fragrant, blooming jasmine I
stroll towards a meticulously raked gravel area
surrounded by trimmed and blooming azaleas (Rhododendron ‘Mothers’
Day’). Spreading out in a dense mass among the azaleas is the Japanese
pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis),
the vertical growth pattern of fringed irises (Iris japonica) interrupting the colourful waves. Among the patches
of plants growing into one another and creating a rhythm, I can hear the notes
of the traditional shamisena playing in my mind.
 |
|
The gravel
river, winding from the North to the South, as is typical for all element
placement.
|
 |
| The weather and water help form the rocks into especially interesting, characteristic shapes |
It is
all about the contrasting placement of the elements: on one side the gravel
plane, on the other the more substantial elements – rocks and plant masses. The
landscape is an interesting combination and representation of the different
types of Japanese gardens in which their creators use the plants and building
elements to tell a story as they imagine it. The symbolic landscape in the Garden
of Activity represents various natural elements: waterfalls, rocks,
mountains and the sea. A part of this representation is the dry garden - karesanzui,
where numerous symbolic motives can be seen in the different elements used in
its composition. From afar I admire the rocks and gravel representing floating
islands amidst a sea, the carefully maintained, higher-placed plants providing
a beautiful frame for the whole scene. My gaze is guided onwards by the
plant-life growing further away and gradually higher, leading and framing the
way into the Garden of Peace.
 |
|
The
rhythm of the garden: switches between open and closed space, mie gakure,
after the principle of seen and hidden.
|
 |
| Pines, maples and cherries are the most typical representatives of the taller vegetation. |
The tea
garden is another type of Japanese garden, in which the ascetic
aesthetic of the shrubbery, stone lanterns and interesting paths leads me on,
into a 'better world'. Traditionally, these gardens create an ambient of
wilderness, simplicity, and form a secluded space, offering refuge from the
outside world. This monochromatic garden employs numerous leaf-textures and a
rich undergrowth of ferns, foregoing any unnecessary elements which might
disrupt my thoughts on the path to the Garden of Harmony. A symbiosis of
both previous gardens can be seen in the plants and other elements of this
garden, as well as in their placement.
Unaffected
naturalness, asymmetry, and a lack of noise are characteristics that best sum
up the impressions of the Japanese part of the Kew Gardens. This garden is in
itself a story, which in its mysteriousness does not limit my wandering
thoughts and represents freedom from everything real. Green as the only colour
used further highlights the tension of the shapes of the basic design.
Enlightenment
can be found in any rock or shrub as well, we only need to notice the simpler
things, think, and go into ourselves.
 |
 |
Japanese masters of the 5th century thought up the philosophy, which still holds true today, that these gardens are not merely a representation of nature, but are, more importantly, food for the soul.
